Refinancing High-Cost Loans for Taxi Medallions

We are very pleased to announce that we are once again able to refinance high-cost loans for individual drivers for their Taxi Medallions through New York City’s Medallion Relief Program, thanks to the resumption of the program after a brief hiatus.

Few things are more iconic than New York City’s cheery yellow taxis. But inside the bright exterior is another story. Drivers are predominantly immigrants, many of whom have invested in the expensive medallions as part of their retirement plan and came to be faced with extreme—and sometimes dire—challenges.

The entry of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft into the New York market drastically altered the landscape. The value of these once highly prized medallions plummeted to as low as $100,000, with the current market value hovering around $125,000. According to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), many taxi drivers now find themselves burdened with an average debt of over $500,000 owed on their medallions. This overwhelming financial strain has left many drivers destitute and has – tragically – led some to take their own lives.

In 2021, thanks to tireless advocacy and protests led by members of the NYTWA, under the leadership of Executive Director Bhairavi Desai and with the support of such elected officials as Senator Chuck Schumer and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, New York City pledged to provide funds toward the refinancing of loans and a city-backed guarantee, the Medallion Relief Program.

Thanks to our close relationship with NYTWA, Accompany Capital offered assistance and became the only non-original lender working with drivers to reduce the burden of debt. To date, Accompany Capital has refinanced 22 medallion loans for a total of $2,600,000, reducing amounts ranging from $400,000 – $650,000 to a more manageable $95,000. In addition, in the last few weeks we have approved 8 more loans with debt ranging from $213k to $113k and we plan to refinance an additional 12 loans for a total of $2,000,000.*

“Accompany Capital stepped in to offer a solution—a lifeline—to our members, who otherwise would have been left to bankruptcy or life-long debt,” said Bhairavi Desai, adding: “Accompany Capital had the vision to understand the financial viability of a ground-breaking program and the compassion to see the humanity of our members and their fight for a life with dignity.”

We are grateful to Lawyers Alliance and the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton for their pro bono legal assistance in modifying the complex loan documents initially drafted by the original loan owner for the purpose of restructuring. Their invaluable help saved us significant time and thousands of dollars in legal fees. We would also like to express our appreciation to the attorneys at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) who represent the medallion owners.

Working together, we hope to achieve even more relief from crushing debt for NYC taxi medallion owners, so they can continue to provide their important—and iconic—service, while supporting themselves and their families with dignity.

*The loan capital and services provided to refinance these loans were funded in large part by a generous donation from the Yield Giving foundation.